{"id":2433,"date":"2026-01-27T18:38:24","date_gmt":"2026-01-27T18:38:24","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/dev.www.purdue.edu\/trails\/?p=2433"},"modified":"2026-01-27T18:38:34","modified_gmt":"2026-01-27T18:38:34","slug":"corals-biomimicry-and-microplastics","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.purdue.edu\/trails\/corals-biomimicry-and-microplastics\/","title":{"rendered":"Corals, Biomimicry, and Microplastics"},"content":{"rendered":"\t\t<div data-elementor-type=\"wp-post\" data-elementor-id=\"2433\" class=\"elementor elementor-2433\">\n\t\t\t\t\t\t<section class=\"elementor-section elementor-top-section elementor-element elementor-element-3c3609e elementor-section-boxed elementor-section-height-default elementor-section-height-default\" data-id=\"3c3609e\" data-element_type=\"section\" data-e-type=\"section\">\n\t\t\t\t\t\t<div class=\"elementor-container elementor-column-gap-default\">\n\t\t\t\t\t<div class=\"elementor-column elementor-col-100 elementor-top-column elementor-element elementor-element-76c9b05\" data-id=\"76c9b05\" data-element_type=\"column\" data-e-type=\"column\">\n\t\t\t<div class=\"elementor-widget-wrap elementor-element-populated\">\n\t\t\t\t\t\t<div class=\"elementor-element elementor-element-ead1260 elementor-widget elementor-widget-text-editor\" data-id=\"ead1260\" data-element_type=\"widget\" data-e-type=\"widget\" data-widget_type=\"text-editor.default\">\n\t\t\t\t<div class=\"elementor-widget-container\">\n\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t<h2><b>Lesson Overview:<\/b><\/h2>\n<p><!-- \/wp:heading --><\/p>\n<p><!-- wp:paragraph --><\/p>\n<p>&nbsp;Students investigate threats to coral reefs in Hawai\u02bbi, including climate change, sedimentation, and microplastic pollution.&nbsp;<span style=\"font-size: 1rem\">Using biomimicry, students design and prototype coral settlement structures that support coral survival, connecting STEM learning with ecological sustainability and human responsibility to protect reefs.<\/span><\/p>\n<p><b style=\"font-family: inherit;color: #8e6f3e;font-size: 1.8667rem\">Lesson Scenario:<\/b><\/p>\n<p><!-- \/wp:heading --><\/p>\n<p><!-- wp:paragraph --><\/p>\n<p>&nbsp;Coral reefs are essential to Hawai\u02bbi\u2019s ecosystems, culture, and economy, yet many reefs struggle to survive due to environmental stressors and pollution.<\/p>\n<p>&nbsp;Students explore coral life cycles and the challenges coral planulae face during settlement, then apply insights from nature to design substrates that promote coral growth and resilience.<\/p>\n<p><span style=\"font-size: 1rem\">&nbsp;Field experiences, community partners, and real-world data help students understand how human actions impact reef health and what solutions are possible.<\/span><\/p>\n<p><!-- \/wp:paragraph --><\/p>\n<p><!-- wp:heading --><\/p>\n<h2><b>Lesson or Unit Objectives:<\/b><\/h2>\n<p><!-- \/wp:heading --><\/p>\n<p><!-- wp:paragraph --><\/p>\n<p>&nbsp;Students will be able to:<\/p>\n<ul>\n<li style=\"list-style-type: none\">\n<ul>\n<li><span style=\"font-size: 1rem\">Explain the ecological, cultural, and economic importance of coral reefs in Hawai\u02bbi<\/span><\/li>\n<li><span style=\"font-size: 1rem\">Identify major threats to coral reefs, including microplastics and climate-related stressors<\/span><\/li>\n<li><span style=\"font-size: 1rem\">Apply biomimicry to design coral settlement structures<\/span><\/li>\n<li><span style=\"font-size: 1rem\">Create physical and\/or 3D-printed prototypes using modeling, CAD, or photogrammetry<\/span><\/li>\n<li><span style=\"font-size: 1rem\">Evaluate designs based on sustainability, feasibility, and environmental impact<\/span><\/li>\n<li><span style=\"font-size: 1rem\">Communicate design ideas and reflect on human responsibility (kuleana) to protect reefs<\/span><\/li>\n<\/ul>\n<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n<ul>\n<li style=\"list-style-type: none\">&nbsp;<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n<p><!-- \/wp:list-item --><\/p>\n<p><!-- \/wp:list --><\/p>\n<p><!-- wp:heading --><\/p>\n<h2><b>Age Level or Subject:<\/b><\/h2>\n<p><!-- \/wp:heading --><\/p>\n<p><!-- wp:list --><\/p>\n<ul>\n<li style=\"list-style-type: none\">\n<ul><!-- wp:list-item --><\/ul>\n<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n<ul>\n<li style=\"list-style-type: none\">\n<ul>\n<li>Grade 9-12, Marin Science, Environmental Science, Engineering Design, Integrated STEM&nbsp;<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n<p><!-- \/wp:list-item --><\/p>\n<p><!-- \/wp:list --><\/p>\n<p><!-- wp:heading --><\/p>\n<h2><b>Lesson Plan Download<\/b><\/h2>\n<p><!-- \/wp:heading --><\/p>\n<p><!-- wp:paragraph --><\/p>\n<p><a href=\"https:\/\/www.purdue.edu\/trails\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/01\/HI-TRAILS-DBAIT-7-E-Lesson-1-Kuwahara-Pavao-Sandvig.docx\">C<\/a><a href=\"https:\/\/www.purdue.edu\/trails\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/01\/Coral-Settlement-Biomimicry-Microplastics-and-Sociopolitical-Art.docx\" target=\"_blank\" style=\"font-size: 1em\">oral Settlement Biomimicry Microplastics and Sociopolitical Art<\/a><\/p>\n<p><!-- \/wp:paragraph --><\/p>\n<p><!-- wp:paragraph --><\/p>\n<p><!-- \/wp:paragraph --><\/p>\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t<\/section>\n\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"<p>Lesson Overview: &nbsp;Students investigate threats to coral reefs in Hawai\u02bbi, including climate change, sedimentation, and microplastic pollution.&nbsp;Using biomimicry, students design and prototype coral settlement structures that support coral survival, connecting STEM learning with ecological sustainability and human responsibility to protect reefs. Lesson Scenario: &nbsp;Coral reefs are essential to Hawai\u02bbi\u2019s ecosystems, culture, and economy, yet many [&hellip;]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":6,"featured_media":2432,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"_acf_changed":false,"footnotes":""},"categories":[1],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-2433","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-lessonplans"],"acf":[],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.purdue.edu\/trails\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/2433","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.purdue.edu\/trails\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.purdue.edu\/trails\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.purdue.edu\/trails\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/6"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.purdue.edu\/trails\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=2433"}],"version-history":[{"count":7,"href":"https:\/\/www.purdue.edu\/trails\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/2433\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":2442,"href":"https:\/\/www.purdue.edu\/trails\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/2433\/revisions\/2442"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.purdue.edu\/trails\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/2432"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.purdue.edu\/trails\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=2433"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.purdue.edu\/trails\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=2433"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.purdue.edu\/trails\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=2433"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}